Chick box spacer



March 4, 194-7., A; E; MILLER CHICK BOX SPA'T'YJER -Filed Nov. 8, 1944INVENTOR. flND/QEW f. Mame,

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Patented Mar. 4, 1947 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE Andrew E. Miller,

.Terre Haute, Ind., assignor to The Wabash Fibre Box Company, TerreHaute, Ind., a corporation of Indiana v 1 Application November 8, 1944,Serial No. 562,410

5 Claims. 1

My invention relates to chick boxes, and more particularly to that typeof chick box provided with a cover bearing spacing members which preventa superposed box from occluding ventilation openings in the cover. myinvention to produce a spacing member which can be made of corrugatedboard or similar material, which can readily be attached to the cover,and which will be suf iciently strong and rigid to provide a support forone or more superposed boxes. i

In carrying out my invention, I form the spacing member from a generallyrectangular blank of corrugated board or similar foldable material.

This blank is folded about three transverse fold- 5 lines to produce acentral wall of double thickness and two divergent side walls. The coveris slotted to receive the lower edge of the center wall and also toreceive ears on the lower edges of the side walls. That portion of thecentral wall which projects through the cover is reduced in width toprovide shoulders which rest on the top surface of the cover andtransmit thereto the load resulting from another box supported on thespacing members.

The accompanying drawing illustrates my invention: Fig. 1 is afragmental plan view of a chick box provided with my improved spacingmembers; Fig. 2 is a fragmental end elevation of the chick box on anenlarged scale; Fig. 3 is a vertical section on the line 3--3 of Fig. 1;Fig. 4 is an end elevation of the spacing member in place on thebox-cover; and Fig. 5 is a plan view of the blank from which thepreferred spacing member is formed.

The box shown in the drawing comprises an open-topped box-body l and acover ll therefor. The box-body and the cover are provided with amultiplicity of distributed ventilation openings 12 and may be formed ofany suitable material, such as corrugated board.

The spacing members which are to be attached to the box cover may bearranged thereon in any desired pattern; but I prefer an arrangement inwhich. the members include four extending obliquely across the cornersof the cover I l in the manner indicated in Fig. 1. In such anarrangement, the cover is provided at each corner with an obliquelyextending slot l which terminates short of the edges of the cover.Between the slot [5 and the adjacent cover-corner, a shorter slot I6 isprovided; and on the opposite side of the slot I5 two alined slots I!are provided. The slots l6 and I! extend parallel to the slot 15.

The spacing member which is to be associated It is the object ofdivided'by three transverse fold lines 2!] into four panels 2 l, 22, 23;and 24. The panel 2| is provided at the end of the blank with two spacedears 25, while the panel 24 is provided at the opposite end of the blankwith a single centrally located ear 26. .The side edges of the blank areprovided respectively with notches 21 having parallel side edges 28located at equal distances from the center fold line, 29. Inca-ch of thepanels 22 and 23 I provide an elongated tongue 30 defined by a fold line3! spaced a short distance from the center fold line 20 of the blank, 3,cut 32 parallel to the fold line 3|, and1cuts'33 interconnectingthe endsof the cut 32 with the ends of the fold line 3|.

In erecting the spacing member from the blank shown in Fig. 5, the blankis folded about the center-line 20 to bring the panels 22 and 23 intosuperposed relation, and the panels 2| and 24 are then folded in theopposite direction about the end fold lines 20. Those portions of thepanels 22 and 23 which are reduced in width by reason of the presence ofthe notches 21 form an car, which is inserteddownwardly through the slotIS in the box-cover ll until the side edges 28 of the notches rest onthe upper surface of the box-cover, as shown in Figs. 2, 3, and 4. Thetongues 30 are so disposed that with the'cleat inserted in the slot l5as above described each tongue will spring outwardly beyond the plane ofits associated panel in the manner indicated in Fig. 4, in order thatits upper edge will engage the lower surface of the box-cover l I andprevent removal of the spacing member. The tongue 26 is inserted in theslot I6, and the tongues 25 are inserted in the slots IT.

The width of the blank is such that the superposed center panels 22 and23 will extend substantially to the side edges of the cover when thespacing member is in place. To prevent the ends of the panel 24 fromprojecting beyond the sides of the cover, they may be beveled asindicated at 35 in Fig. 5. As a result of this arrangement,

any load applied to the top of the spacing member is transmitteddirectly through the substan tially vertical, double-thickness wall22-23 to the box-cover ll through the shoulders 28," and such load isthen transmitted directly through the box cover to the side walls of thebox body ID, as will be clear from Fig. 3. The end panels 2| and 24 ofthe blank, which occupy an inclined position when the spacing member isin place, may aid in transmitting some of the load, but their chieffunction is to maintain the center wall 22-23 in a substantiallyvertical position. When the blank is formed of corrugated board, thecorrugations desirably run longitudinally of the blank so that they willextend vertically in the center wall 22-23 and provide increasedstiffness and strength forsuch center wall.

I claim as my invention:

1. In a chick box having a body and a cover, spacing members secured tothe cover on the upper side thereof to support a superposed box, each ofsaid spacing members comprising a central vertical wall and two inclinedwalls which are vertically coextensive with said vertical wall and whichextend obliquely between the top of said vertical wall and said cover,said walls being provided at their lower edges with ears, and said coverbeing provided with slots in which said ears are received, at least oneof the ears on said -central wall carrying releasable means engageablewith the lower surface of the cover to prevent removal of said ear fromthe ear-receiving slot in the cover.

2. In a chick box having a body and avcover, spacing members secured tothe cover on the upper side thereof to support a superposed box, each ofsaid spacing members being formed of corrugated paper and including acentral vertical wall of double thickness and an inclined wall extendingfrom the top of each thickness of the central wall to said cover, saidwalls being provided at their lower edges with ears, and said coverbeing provided with slots receiving said ears, at least one thickness ofsaid central wall being provided with an integral tongue engageable withthe lower surface of said cover to prevent removal of the spacingmember.

3. A spacing member for use on the cover of a chick box, said membercomprising a generally rectangular blank of foldable material, saidblank being provided in opposite edges with similar notches, each ofsaid notches having parallel side edges respectively alined with theside edges of the other notch whereby said notches will have a commoncenter-line, said blank being folded upon itself about said center line,the end portions of said blank being folded away from each other onlines parallel to said center-line, said end portions being providedwith ears at their outer edges.

4. The invention set forth in claim 3 with the addition that said blankis provided on opposite sides of said center-line and between saidnotches with integral tongues having free edges parallel to and spacedfrom said center-line.

5. The invention set forth in claim 3 with the addition that said blankis provided on one side of said center-line and between said notcheswith an integral tongue having a free edge parallel to and spaced fromsaid center-line.

ANDREW E-. MILLER.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,630,862 Parks Ma 31, 19272,331,867 Marshall Oct, 12, 1943 2,021,208 Stouffer Nov. 19, 19352,339,729 Thorup Jan. 18, 1944 1,292,174 Walter Jan. 21, 1919 1,973,959Kramer e Sept. 18, 1934

